You Made Me Love You
by SassyJ
Summary: The course of fate is changed, Kate survives the shooting, and saves Ari's life. They find happiness together, but Eli David has a long memory. When Kate and Ari's daughter is kidnapped; Gibbs and the team have to go out on a limb to save Kate's family.
1. Chapter 1

I came to in the back of the ambulance on the way to Bethesda. Which didn't make a great deal of sense to me, until Tony managed to explain it. Apparently my dive for the team had stopped the bullet with my vest, but during the moment of impact I had hit my head and knocked myself cold.

I knew it was Ari on that other roof top. No, I didn't have x-ray vision or anything like that, I couldn't read the future. I knew the same way Gibbs knows things. Gut, intuition, call it whatever you like, it's that same sinking feeling you get when you know something is going to go badly wrong and you are powerless to prevent it.

Ari was going to die.

I knew it as surely as I knew that my name was Caitlin Todd. As surely as I knew I was in love with a man who had taken on a suicide mission and was going to see it through to the bitter end.

Ari Haswari was not doing it for the glory, or the virgins, or any other sense of conviction. He was walking into hell because he could see no other way out and he was tired of it all.

And I was surely going to stop him. Whatever it took. I was going to bring this to a close and save a life.

I made them stop the ambulance, I made Tony get me back to my car and I borrowed a leaf from the Gibbs' school of driving. I had to make it. I had to beat whoever Ari was expecting to take his life, protect him, and if necessary stop him from harming Gibbs.

Ari Haswari had made me like this; and he was going to have to take some of the damn responsibility for making me love him. I knew why he was doing this. He couldn't do it anymore. He thought everything was finished, and his life was forfeit.

Ari was a master at pushing it.

I shoved my foot down harder on the gas pedal. I'd worry about speeding tickets later. I had to get there. And I knew pretty much exactly what I was going have to do. I was going to have shoot Ari. He wouldn't stop just because I would be begging. He thought his life was finished. I had to put him in a position that he would be unable to harm either himself or anyone else.

I could not falter or fail, I had to put a bullet in him somewhere that would take him out of play. I was going to have to hurt him. As much as I hated the idea, the idea of Ari succeeding in his suicide quest was anathema to me.

He wasn't going to be allowed to quit that easily.

I reached Gibbs' place, the back door was open. I slid my Glock out, and moved in. I was running on pure adrenaline. It was late in the game and everything hung in the balance. There was someone there ahead of me.

I could hear voices. Ari, Gibbs, the silent tread of the other shooter.

Now or never. I stepped through the doorway, sighted and fired, as she snapped off a shot.

My bullet struck home first.

How do I know? Ari screamed in agony as he went down. Not from the kill shot to the head, but from my bullet which punched into his shoulder.

She was ahead of me on the stairs, her pretty face blank with the emotional stress, I had no idea why, I was concentrated on Ari.

Clear weapons from his reach, and put pressure on the wound. My hands grasped his shoulder and he howled. Through, and I checked, no through. The bullet was still in there. There was so much blood.

Hands reached out, grasped mine and pulled them away from the gaping hole in Ari's shoulder, two field dressings and I grasped the wounded shoulder again.

"Why, Caitlin?" he ground out between tortured moans of agony.

I looked him in the eye. He stared up at me for a second. We had an audience, Gibbs and the girl, but I wanted Ari to know, and get it.

"You made me love you. You didn't have to do it."

I didn't care who knew right then. Somehow we were going to be alright. But only with my declaration. I was going to fight for my love.


	2. Chapter 2

It's three am. I am squished in a hard, uncomfortable visitor's chair next to Ari's bedside. I have a headache, a lump the size of a hen's egg on the side of my head where I hit it on the roof as I fell and my chest feels like an elephant has been tap-dancing on it.

_Harry Todd_ (Gibbs' idea, but I went along with it) has come through surgery and he's resting. Not comfortably, and definitely not sleeping. He's on enough pain/sedation medication to bring down a bull elephant in mid-charge, and he's wrapped like a mummy from the Smithsonian, so he's miserably uncomfortable but alive. But there's no way he's sleeping.

My shot made a dreadful mess of his shoulder. He's looking at a lot of surgery and months of physiotherapy to get his arm functional again. That's if he doesn't lose the arm first.

He's holding my hand. When he came round after the emergency surgery to fix the worst of it and get the bullet out, his good hand slid across the few inches of bed between me and him, and he took hold of my hand. Not me clinging to him, but Ari clinging to me.

The distinction is subtle, but it's there. He's not going to just let go. The insanity and pain of the last few hours is over. He's doped up to the eyeballs, but he knew exactly who else was in the room, even doped up and in mind-blanking pain, he was making a point.

I looked up at Gibbs, Gibbs looked back at me with a long hard stare. Then he grinned, that cock-eyed, rueful, Gibbs-grin that could mean just about anything (this is a man you never, ever, play poker with!).

"You've made up your mind?" That clear, hard eyed stare again.

I nodded. I tried not to look pleadingly at him. Gibbs was immune to puppy-dog eyes anyway.

He must have liked or believed what he read from my face, he nodded, "I'll try and make it right."

A Gibbs try is worth ten of someone else's, that is what makes him so good. And, in the broad spectrum, politics is a matter of total indifference to him. In the Gibbs idiom, life is worth far more than the machinations of greedy men.

The young woman, Ziva, is Ari's sister. Wherever her orders may have come from, her mission was to kill Ari. Is it wrong to be amused at such a time? I look at Ziva, her body language, she's independent and feisty, but she's already looking to Gibbs for reassurance.

I am amused, because we all do. Even Tony.

He appeared. To check on me. Earning himself a head-slap from Gibbs. For letting me run off into danger with no back up.

As if Tony had a choice in the matter. I gave him no choice.

We are alone now, Ari and I. He's still holding my hand. He's very heavily bandaged, his right arm folded up across his chest, securely wrapped to his body, thick padding over his wounded shoulder. Even the tiniest movement makes him wince and bite his lower lip.

He's cried a couple of times. He's in so much pain he can't control it. I see it, but I doubt anyone else would. He had never let anyone else be that close.

When we were at the farm, and he told me that he had never had any trouble getting women, I might have snapped back something about him paying them to be with him, but I knew he was telling me the literal truth.

There's something intoxicating about authoritative, foreign guys. Ari was handsome, confident, well groomed and charming. He wouldn't have the slightest difficulty getting a woman.

Even as my soul rejoiced that he had picked me, a tiny corner of my heart viewed other pretty women with suspicion.

But Ari only had eyes for me.

I had been permitted to see him cry. I had a packet of tissues in my pocket, and I had wiped away his tears. This time I didn't just see kindness in his eyes. I saw love. All the love he had to give. For me. He had deep-frozen his heart for so long, love was as much a revelation to him as it was to me.

I had known why I was saving him, he belonged to me.


	3. Chapter 3

Gibbs was as good as his word, he really came through for us.

While I concentrated on Ari, Gibbs was quietly spinning some magic in the background. New identity for Ari, cover for me.

I would have to leave NCIS. I won't lie and say that the prospect didn't upset me, because it did. But I had pledged myself to Ari and there really wasn't any going back.

Ari's father wanted him dead, and I had prevented that, both our lives were at risk. Gibbs came up with a solution. He was going to hide us in plain sight.

Ari and I spent our days talking, and he underwent two more surgeries before they decided he had to have time to heal before more could be done. Tony, McGee and Abby packed up my apartment. Ziva retrieved whatever she could find of Ari's belongings without drawing too much attention. It would be a very long time before he would be able to ride a motorbike again.

We were in flux, but we were together, and we felt relatively safe. So we dared to dream.

"You are Catholic, Kate." Ari looked at me, we were both sitting on his bed, he was holding my hand. It wasn't a question, just a statement. I nodded.

"I am not anything in particular." I knew what he was telling me. Simply, Ari had turned his back on faith. I also knew that he was trying to tell me that there were no faith barriers to our relationship.

There was a lump in my throat.

He was still all bandaged up, but he reached awkwardly into his jeans pocket with his left hand and pulled out a box.

Suddenly, my palms were sweating, his face started to blur a little as he opened the box and I simply stared.

It was beautiful, simple and modern. White gold with a cabochon diamond.

Ari looked at me. "Caitlin, will you marry me?"

I nodded and burst into tears as Ari slid the ring on my finger. It fit perfectly. It was so beautiful. Cautiously, I put my arms around his neck and hugged him to me. He wasn't as cautious, his good arm slid round my waist and he pulled me right up against him.

Our lips met.

The sound of two throats clearing behind us, brought us back to the land of reality. I turned. It was Gibbs and he wasn't alone.

I stiffened and reached for Ari's hand. Tobias Fornell. The FBI.

I shot a glare at Gibbs.

"Well, we needed identities for you. Tobias was the obvious choice." Fornell smiled sourly.

I started to relax as a thought occurred to me. This was Gibbs' version of spread-betting. Fornell knew about us. Fornell was Gibbs' insurance policy against the higher ups.

Gibbs handed over the folder he had under his arm. I opened it, and stared in disbelief. "Gibbs?"

"You two need somewhere to live, and having you close by in plain sight seemed the simplest, safest option."

I shook my head in bewilderment, "but a guest house, Gibbs?" I turned to look at Ari, "we don't have a clue about running a guest house."

Ari's hand closed over mine. He squeezed my fingers reassuringly. "We can learn." When he looked at me like that, I would gladly have walked into hell with him.

I turned back to Gibbs.

"There's one more thing."

"You want to get married." Fornell spoke.

Gibbs shot a sideways glare at him, then looked at us.

I smiled ruefully. "We do."


	4. Chapter 4

We've been married for five years now. Five, wonderful, happy years. We've had some nerve-wracking moments, but mostly we've felt safe and secure in our own lives.

Our guest house is not spectacular, but we make a decent living. I take care of guests and front of house, Ari cooks and porters, and we both clean. The island is our home. It's peaceful, remote, secure.

Ari has healed here. Not just his shoulder, but other darker things that used to come to him in the night. The past is dead. The final catalyst for our happiness is our four-year-old daughter, Talya.

Ari is a good and rather obsessive father. He spends hours a day bonding with his daughter, playing with her, tending to her. If she ever falls over, he gets there before me, he dries her tears, cuddles her, soothes her and she adores him. Toys, clothes, the list of things he likes to buy for her is never ending.

And it isn't just Ari who likes to buy things for our daughter. We don't see the team every month, just flying visits in and out. Gibbs comes as often as he can. Abby spends a lot of time here. Tony, McGee, Ducky, even Jimmy, and Ziva.

Ari and Ziva have put the past to rest between them. And Ziva dotes on her niece.

...ooo0ooo...

Most nights when we're on our own, or guests are happy and settled in the lounge, we curl up on the couch in our private apartment together, and Ari reads. I am not particularly well versed in languages, Ari speaks many, sometimes he isn't even sure how he knows some of them. He reads to me from all sorts of books. English literature, German poetry, Russian plays, songs in Hebrew. He teaches me Hebrew. And Arabic. But mostly Hebrew.

Some nights, I sit down with Talya on my lap, all sleepy and warm after her bath, and Ari cuddles us both and reads children's stories.

I have never been so happy. We are at peace, and I can almost forget the past.

...ooo0ooo...

Our first real hint of danger came when the new director changed the team around. They were all scattered, except for Gibbs. Suddenly we felt more exposed.

Ari could almost sense his father's malevolent presence.

But nothing came of it. The team reassembled. We relaxed.

There was something nagging at the back of my mind.

...ooo0ooo...

It began innocuously. We had to repaint the reception area. Now Talya wants to help, but she's four... she gets paint everywhere... it takes us as long to clear up after her, as it does to get the job done in the first place.

Betty Field is a neighbour and friend, and she watches Tali on occasion. So off to Betty she goes, chattering happily. Her little hand clutched firmly in her father's large one.

We worked fast. I don't know what it was, but I couldn't rid my mind of this nagging anxiety. We were nearly done when the phone went. It was Betty.

She was crying and sobbing so hard at first I couldn't make sense of what she was saying. Then my world began to wobble on its axis.

Our daughter was missing.


	5. Chapter 5

We clung to each other. Shaking.

I suppose I had always felt in the back of my mind that our beautiful life had a shadow hanging over it. Now I just felt paralysed with terror.

"We can't leave this to the local LEOs." I mumbled into Ari's shoulder.

"Ring Gibbs." His arms clutched me tighter.

...ooo0ooo...

We had an idea who was behind it. I hoped and prayed with everything I had that it wasn't true.

I drove. I needed to keep myself occupied and there was another reason. My fear for my husband. If this _was_ his father's doing, we faced untold danger, and physically Ari was not the Mossad operative he had been five years ago.

My bullet into his shoulder had done serious damage. He had pulled through, he had not lost his arm, but even extensive physiotherapy and four operations had not restored a full range of movement. Some days were a lot better than others, but he still had problems, particularly in the cold. On bad days, I thought about packing us up and moving us south to a warmer place.

Now he could be called upon to act, and I was terrified for him. I knew he was prepared to die for us. Prepared to die to protect us from our child's grandfather.

I couldn't lose either of them. I was prepared to kill to keep my family.

We headed into Washington, straight for NCIS. Three hour drive and we had barely said a word. We didn't actually need words. I said a little prayer to myself. Ari rubbed his right shoulder, and a little shiver crept up my spine. It was cold out, so it might be reflex and his stress response, but when he pulled my Sig Sauer from its holster and sighted along it, I knew. I caught the tremor of his hand out of the corner of my eye as we pulled up at the lights. The injury I had inflicted to save his life had affected his ability to shoot.

"It does not matter, my Caitlin."

I wanted to scream at him. "Ari, now is not the time for fatalism." I snapped, as I pulled into visitor's space.

He turned to me. "I will face my father, and we will get Tali back." He said firmly. I almost retched, the sick feeling in the pit of my stomach since Betty's call redoubling.

We entered through the evidence garage, Ari slightly behind me. Gibbs and Abby were waiting for us. I looked into his kind blue eyes, and flew into his arms. He held on to me as I fell apart. "I just want her back, Gibbs." I choked between sobs.

Gibbs eased back and handed me off to Abby, who pulled me in. Then somehow Ari was there with me, and it all got mixed up again and I started to cry again.

All my tension and fear flooded out together, I could feel Ari's tears on my neck and shoulder, Abby's arms around both of us, then Ari pulled back. That intense masculine pride of his. _Never_ _let them see you bleed_.

Tony's arms closed around me from behind and he squeezed me gently. "We'll get her back, Kate."

...ooo0ooo...

McGee was hunched over keyboard typing frantically. "Boss..."

"What have you got, McGee?" Gibbs was there behind us.

"I've been checking cars coming along the likely routes into Washington."

"And..."

"He appears."

"He who?" Gibbs snapped.

"Erm...Trent Kort." McGee almost stammers.

"Who?" I falter.

The look of sheer hatred on Tony's face shocks me. Then I catch a glimpse of Ari's face, he's gone white, his eyes are almost black with shock and another powerful emotion that he attempts to hide. Tony and Gibbs are staring at Ari. There is a sense of unspoken sympathy in the air, the first time I have ever sensed a real thawing of the team's response to my husband.

We have a lead.


	6. Chapter 6

Why Trent Kort would want our little girl wasn't something I could really understand. But looking at the rage and pain on my husband's face, I knew it was true.

Gibbs put a hand on Ari's shoulder and squeezed it. Gently. Ari's left shoulder, the one he had put a bullet in six years ago. A through and through, painful, but no real damage.

Not like the shot I had taken to save Ari and Gibbs. I moved up close to Ari who put his right arm around me. I stared meaningfully at Gibbs, who picked up on the slow and slightly clumsy movement instantly.

He fixed that infamous Gibbs stare on my husband's face. "Ari?"

Give him credit for honesty, my husband didn't even try to lie. "My shoulder is, I believe you say,_wrecked._ I have about 80% use of my right arm."

"But ordering you, and Kate, to stay here won't make any difference."

Ari lets the mask slip, his desolation and pain are there for all to see. "I cannot."

Gibbs nods. He understands, as I knew he would.

...ooo0ooo...

It was our wedding day. I'm wearing a cream suit I found in a shop around the corner from the hospital.

Ari understands me so well, it was his suggestion that we marry in church, if a church will take us. And there was one place I knew I could turn.

I had met Father Clennan the year before, over time, I had come to know and trust this man. There was no hesitation, he accepted us.

Abby is my maid of honour, Gibbs is there to give me away. Tony is best man. Not because he wants to support Ari, but because he's there for me. Ari knows this, and accepts it. They have reached a kind of neutrality, which is about as good as it is going to get in the circumstances.

We stand at the altar. Ari looks so handsome in his black suit, black silk shirt, other than his motorcycle leathers, I don't think I've ever seen him in any other colour. I had even said as much, he'd given me that cock-eyed look which says he's thinking _crazy woman._ Then he shrugs and says, "if it is all black, then it all goes together." He does care for his appearance. It was partly that which convinced me that Ari was no fanatic. Manicures and salon-styled hair did not go with that scenario.

We stand before the altar, before our priest... before God, and we pledge ourselves to each other. I look up into my husband's face, and see it all, his heart laid bare for me. He's dispensed with the sling for our wedding, his arm is stiff and his movements very slow and a bit clumsy, but he slides my ring onto my finger with ease.

Moments later, I slide his ring onto his finger and we truly are husband and wife. I look round at the assembled party, Gibbs, Tony, Ziva, Abby, McGee, Ducky and Jimmy. And Fornell.

That was Gibbs again. The FBI "know" about us. There is something in Fornell's almost shark-like grin which says that he gets it. And there is a certain air of quiet triumph about Gibbs, because he's won, he's beaten Fornell over this and that makes him happy.

Then I forget to think, because Father Clennan says "you may kiss the bride" and Ari hauls me right up close. His arms around me, my arms slide around his neck, I'm trying to avoid putting any pressure on his shoulder, I can feel the heavily-wrapped bandages beneath his suit. I can feel the careful movements of his arm, and I know he's hurting, but he's so stubborn. Then our lips meet and the world slips out of focus.

...ooo0ooo...

Now our child is in danger, and all that careful planning may just make no difference. But Gibbs has a plan of sorts.

It turns out that Fornell loathes Kort too. I gained the impression from the conversation that loathing Kort is universal.

I listen to the discussion, Ari's arm still wrapped around me. I lean against him, I can't think straight. He's drawing comfort from my presence too, I can feel his stress and pain.

Ziva is standing to one side, not really involved in the various discussions going on. She has her head on one side and she's studying Ari. I don't know her well, but I know that look.

"Ziva?" I know I'm looking at her like a begging spaniel puppy, but I'm not going to apologise for that.

She holds up a finger. She tilts her head again.

"I have something."


	7. Chapter 7

I try to pull myself together as Ziva outlines her plan. She made a couple of calls, and apparently, her father _is_ in town.

I look up at the tall dark man standing in front of us; he, Ziva and my husband hold a rapid conversation in Hebrew. I catch some of it but it is mostly beyond my capability, and at one point the tall dark man, Malachi, said something that I am certain was an expletive.

Gibbs waits to one side. It's unusual for him to be reticent.

The conversation ends. Ari turns to Gibbs. "We think this will work."

Gibbs puts his head on one side. "Not without back up it won't."

"This is not a Navy case."

"No, it isn't... this time it's _really_ personal." Tony answers.

Gibbs looks at him.

Tony falters. "yes, boss?" he mutters uncertainly.

Gibbs smiles. It is not a nice smile. "Exactly."

He turns to Malachi. "You know where Kort is?"

"I know." The look on Malachi's face is cold and hard. He turns to me. "Caitlin, we do not make war on little children. We will get Tali back." For a second I wonder why he calls our daughter Tali, true she is named for Ziva and Ari's sister, the one who died, but I wonder how Malachi could know that. "I promise." He says.

I believe him. I take his offered hand. "I know." I say, and squeeze his hand.

...ooo0ooo...

They prepare, Ari and Malachi dressed identically, all in black, like armed response units. I look at them, and see Ziva's plan start to come to reality in my mind. The resemblance is uncanny, dressed alike and moving fast one might not be able to tell between them.

My husband is taking a huge risk, he's five years out of this game, he's fit, but far from battle-hardened, and his shoulder could slow his responses and make him more vulnerable.

Gibbs wants me in the van with McGee. I want to be with Ari. I am so scared.

That's not going to happen.

Gibbs takes me to one side. "Kate, I won't let anything happen to them."

I'm shaking. "Make me believe that, Gibbs, please..."

He draws me into his arms. "Believe it... because it's true." I cling. Like the night five years ago when I waited for Ari to come out of surgery. The night I fell apart in Gibbs' arms because I had shot the man I loved and didn't know if my shot was going to cost him his right arm or maybe even his life.

Just like that night. I draw on some of Gibbs' incredible emotional strength.

"It will be alright."

I take this as a statement of fact.

Gibbs does not lie. He never has need to.

...ooo0ooo...

There is no hell on earth worse than enforced inactivity. But I gave my word, and I cannot break it. But I hate it. Next to me, stuck in the van, hovering over his laptop, McGee is quivering like a hunting dog on the scent.

He's hooked into a surveillance camera network. His screen divides into very small boxes and we lean closer, trying to make anything out.

Suddenly smoke drifts across the bottom right picture, and I know it has begun.

...ooo0ooo...

An eternity passes.

I try to still the shaking of my hands.

McGee provides a low-voiced running commentary, in between instructions to Gibbs.

I try not to stare at the screen. And I jump out of my skin when I hear a shriek of pain, _Ari's voice_. Tim's hand clamps over mine as I fight the urge to burst out of the truck and race to Ari's side.

The back door opens, and I spin round. It's Gibbs. I practically fall out of the van. They're all there. Ari comes towards me.

He's walking, his right arm is dangling, but he has the most precious burden riding on his left hip, and right then I'll take him anyway I can.

Tali's arms close round my neck and I haul my precious hard against me. Ari moves up against me, and his left arm goes round us. I grab hold of him, supporting him against me as his knees begin to buckle. Then Gibbs and Tony move in to take care of him.

Gibbs leaves Ari to Tony and turns to me. "What do you say to getting out of here?"

I nod. I am too full to speak.


	8. Chapter 8

We're settled at Abby's; Ari is lying on her couch, he should be in hospital, but he won't go. Abby and Ducky have made him as comfortable as they can in the circumstances. A couple of pillows tucked behind his right shoulder. Ducky has strapped his shoulder for the time being, he refused the sling because Tali is in his arms despite the pain from his shoulder injury. She is curled into his chest. Her little fingers are locked into his shirt front so tight. Her other hand has a death grip on my shirt collar. I'm sitting on the floor, huddled as close as I can get to both of them, my arm round them.

My family is alive and safe, rather battered, and I am worried about Ari's shoulder, but we have come through this.

Malachi Ben-Gidon is slumped on the other side of me, on the other couch. He's in a slightly better state than Ari, but then he's younger and his training is more up to date, and he didn't start off with a partially paralysed arm. Stubbornly, he's also refused to go to hospital. Ducky is busy patching him up, assisted by Abby. Despite the occasional hiss of pain, there are some definitely hormonal vibes going on too. Malachi and Abby are looking at each other in much the same way as a pair of starving Chihuahuas might look at a pork chop.

Ziva is in the kitchen, being assisted (or hampered) by McGee and Tony. McGee is pouting a little. He's not over-keen on Abby's interest in Ziva and Ari's cousin.

Now that I look at Malachi properly, I can see it, the family genetics, and that was exactly what Ziva was counting on. Ari and Malachi are the same height and general build, there is even a reasonable passing family resemblance, although they are not actually linked by blood. Kort and Liat would not be able to tell the difference in the confusion. Giving Ari and Malachi time to snatch Tali back.

I have no idea why Kort did what he did, but that Malachi's sometime partner at Mossad, Liat Turvia, should be involved convinced me that Eli David is in this up to his neck.

Ari's breathing changes, and I realise with some relief that he's fallen asleep. Tali is still awake, but her fingers are locked around her papa's shirt. She feels safe now, curled in her papa's arms and I realise she's inherited quite a lot of his stubborn nature. Our daughter is smart too, she knows that if she squirms around she will hurt her papa, so she lies very still for a four-year-old with limitless energy.

There's a knock at the door and Abby goes to answer it.

My world starts to wobble again.

Gibbs and Fornell, but they're not alone. Eli David is with them. I stare up at my husband's father in fear and confusion. Tali is frightened, she doesn't know who this man is, but she picks up on my fear. She sits up quickly, jolting Ari's arm.

Ari yelps in pain. He can't help himself, and now he's wide awake. He stares in disbelief and horror at his father. He struggles to get to his feet, as Tali flings herself into my arms.

I'm trying to contain my daughter's fear, and soothe my husband; Ducky and Abby, and even Malachi move to help. I leave Ari to them as I look up at Gibbs. _Why?_

Even as our eyes connect, a light flashes in my brain. This is the only way. A roomful of witnesses; brother and sister, their cousin, Tony, McGee, Abby, Ducky, himself and Fornell. Gibbs has done the only thing that could possibly protect us in the future. Bring Eli David in and make him see the truth. Ari and I, and our little girl – together. NCIS knows, the FBI knows, his own children know, even his nephew knows, so Mossad knows.

The only way Eli David can harm Ari is to kill everyone here first. And then, he has no guarantee that the knowledge extends outside of the witnesses present. He's stymied.

"Papa?"

Ziva's in the doorway. Her voice tense and remote, that blank look is back on her face. Intense emotion barely contained.

I frown at Gibbs. There's a sadness in his eyes, "I know" he says. And that's the difference between them. Gibbs knows the pain he's brought on Ziva, and Ari, and he's sorry for it, but he knows that without the pain, the danger will never stop. He's done the needful, but that does not mean he has to like it.

The love and respect I have for the man just goes on growing.

Then I look at the man who used his children. Who inflicted damage on them almost from the date of their births, to achieve his own ends. He had even ordered his daughter to kill his son. His own children. One to kill the other. Never mind the actual harm that would inflict emotionally.

For politics.


	9. Chapter 9

Even though he's done a lot of damage, I can't quite bring myself to hate Eli David. After all, he _is_ the loser in all this. I glance across to Ziva, proud and independent, Eli hasn't won. If anything, both Ziva and Ari have come back stronger than ever.

He's missed out on something very special. His children. He's missing out on something just as special, Ari's and my daughter, his only grandchild.

Tali has stopped crying. She's pulling back in my arms. I let her go, the fierce determination on her little face says it all. Ari sits up with difficulty. He's going to face his father whatever. He's barely conscious and moving on autopilot, his left hand is pressed to his bandaged right shoulder, he's breathing heavily as he tries to clamp down on the pain.

Tali stands in front of her father; her little arms outstretched. He's hurting so badly, but his good arm extends to pull her in, as she flings herself surprisingly gently into his chest again. She hooks a hand over his left shoulder and climbs onto his knee.

She settles and pins Eli David, her own grandfather, with a fierce look. "Bad man." She says quite distinctly.

I am torn, between pride at my daughter's fierce and independent spirit, and embarrassment at her sudden lack of manners.

It's all too much for Ari, weakened from his injury, worn out from the stress and worry of the last few hours, from somewhere he finds the strength to pull Tali close and he bends over her, hiding his emotional response to our daughter's fierce defence of her papa.

I watch her little hand pat his cheek through a mist of my own tears.

It's time to face this and deal with it, or worry for the rest of our lives.

...ooo0ooo...

So we talked. Actually, it was mostly me. Backed up by Gibbs and Fornell, I stood my ground and had it out with Eli David, Deputy Director of Mossad. My father in law.

Ari takes almost no part in the discussion. His brief moment of defiance was spent when he gathered our daughter into his arms.

It is partly fear that spurs me on as my husband rapidly deteriorates before my eyes.

Eli actually appears concerned about Ari's state of health.

I am finding it really hard to hate him, as his concerned gaze constantly flicks past me to Ari, lying semi-conscious on the couch beside me.

Ducky is tending to Ari. I can tell from his concerned face that my husband isn't doing too well. Ducky wants Ari taken to Bethesda. My husband is hurting and stubborn, he's hating that he's showing any form of weakness, but he's physically unable to resist the pain. It's taking all his strength to hold on.

Ziva appears in the doorway to the kitchen, she throws her father a neutral look, and moves up to the back of the couch. Ducky moves aside, he's clearly hoping that Ari's sister and cousin will have more luck persuading him.

I look up at Ziva's face and realise that whatever might have come between them in the past, Ziva loves her brother. Ari's eyes are closed, and he's lying very still, but obviously the pain of his broken shoulder is too much. The fear in his sister's eyes spells it out.

She moves round to my side and sits down next to him. "Ari." A tear runs down her cheek, Ari looks up at her and gives in. Emotionally, he's not proof against his sister's tears.

...ooo0ooo...

It's just like five years ago. In fact, this is an almost action replay. I'm waiting anxiously in the waiting area for news of my lover and whether he's come through the operation or not.

Gibbs is waiting with me.

The difference?

McGee is quietly distracting our daughter.

Ziva is slowly tearing a coffee cup into tiny shreds. Tony is trying to remove it from her grasp and replace it with a fresh one. Ducky is offering silent support to Ziva.

Abby is trying to support everyone, including a freshly patched up Malachi, who's feeling pretty rough around the edges too.

And over in a corner sits Eli David.

I glance across at the old man who has dominated our lives for so long. I think at this moment in time, he finally realises what he could be losing.

I'm holding it together.

Sort of.

Ari is five years older this time. He's fit, but this is the second time around for this injury and his shoulder was already severely damaged from my shot. This time could cost him his arm.

Gibbs' arm goes around my waist. I rest my head against his shoulder. Tears slide down my cheeks. Gibbs says nothing. He doesn't need to.


	10. Chapter 10

Another three a.m. It could even be the same hard plastic visitor's chair.

Ari's clinging to my hand. His shoulder has been pinned, and this time there's a cast and a brace holding the surgeon's work in position. So he's even more miserably uncomfortable than he was the last time. Even the painkillers they pumped him full of are really only just about taking the edge off.

But his arm is still attached. Testament to this surgeon's skill, Ari may even regain more use of his right arm. It's going to be a long, painful and very uncomfortable road, but we'll take it.

I hold his left hand between both mine, and kiss his fingers. He opens his eyes, "I love you." He murmurs sleepily.

"I love you." I parrot, reaching out to stroke his cheek.

We're alone. Gibbs has taken Tali home with him. She trusts him, and I trust that she will behave herself, and he won't introduce her to too much boat building.

The others have taken themselves off, Tony and Ziva. McGee on his own, casting a cross glance in the general direction of Malachi and Abby.

Abby is looking after Malachi, who is playing his poor wounded soldier card for all it is worth. Abby isn't a fool, but she likes to cherish, so Malachi's happy. There's a kind of wonder in his eyes which suggests to me that Ari's cousin is falling hard.

Despite my worries, I can't help feeling a little pleased that something positive may come of this.

Ari tugs on my hand. "What?" I bend closer.

"Lie with me." He whispers. I shake my head.

"I can't... What if I hurt you?"

He gives me the look. He's been giving me _that_ look since the day in autopsy when he took that scalpel off my hands and told me he was testing me out.

I sigh and kick my shoes off, shrug out of my jacket then ease up onto the bed next to him. He can't move because they've immobilised him to protect his shoulder, but his good arm comes around me and I burrow very carefully against him.

Despite his injuries, I feel safe lying next to him, reassured, protected. Whenever I'm alone with Ari I feel like this. I lay my hand gently on his chest, feeling the warmth of his skin beneath my fingers, the slight rise and fall as he breathes.

Ari turns his head and presses a kiss to my forehead. I should be the one comforting him, but as usual it's Ari comforting me. This has been his role in my life since we've been together.

The nurses will probably be annoyed with me, but he wants me close, and it's all about what Ari wants right now. We don't say a word, we don't need to, and just before I fall asleep I wonder if Eli David will be as good as his word, that Ari and I will be left in peace to raise our daughter.

And her little brother or sister.


End file.
